Thanksgiving was originally started by the Pilgrims, a group of English Puritans. The Puritans were a group of Protestant Reformers who didn’t like the way the English Reformation had turned out, thinking that the Catholics should have been kicked out of the country. This did not, of course, happen. They were also mad at the English King, James I, because he was so friendly to Catholicism, having been raised by the Catholic Queen of Scotland, Mary. When he told them that they could deal with it or move out, they did just that. Move out, I mean, not deal with it.
They first moved to The Netherlands, since it was much more hostile to Catholics, having recently fended off Spanish government. But they were not able to live well there because it was so small that all area was urban area, and this naturally didn’t work for the Puritans who had lived on farms and rural/suburban areas all their lives. They then decided to strike out to the new world, where there really weren’t any urban areas yet. They made a deal with the London Company, a company specializing in shipping people and things to the Americas. This deal got them two boats and the appropriate crews, letting them make their way to North America.
Unfortunately one of their boats, the Speedwell, sprung several leaks, making it unseaworthy. The Pilgrims couldn’t afford a new boat, however, so some of the Puritans didn’t make the trip, staying in England and the Netherlands. The rest of the people crowded in on the other ship, The Mayflower, and they had to fit the extra equipment on the already crowded boat. They finally set out, however, on September 6th 1620, with 102 pilgrims and 30 crew members.
They landed on the tip of Cape Cod on November 9th 1620, finally reaching land after two months of sailing. They then sailed inland a bit and founded the Plymouth Colony on the opposite side of Cape Cod. Winter was already setting in, So the Pilgrims wasted no time in building homes for their people. Unfortunately, the lack of proper living space, the cold, and the lack of food resulted in the deaths of almost half the Puritans, and only 53 survived the first winter. I’m glad that more didn’t die, really, but the perfectionist in me is a little annoyed that it was only 2 people off from exactly half of them dying, and it being 53/102 instead of 51/102.
It was in this Spring that they met the Indian tribe that lived in that area, called the Wampanoag tribe. The Pilgrims started to form into a militia, in case they needed to fight, and the first few months of interaction were tense. Thankfully, an Indian named Samoset came down from a hunting trip in the north, and while there he had learned English from white hunters who were also up there, and once he got back to the Wampanoags he was able to help trade and understanding grow between the two peoples, and they were able to coexist. The 53 Pilgrims then celebrated the anniversary of their arrival in Plymouth in November, offering thanks to God for helping them get through that rough year, and for allowing peace with the Indians. This is still a popular holiday in America to this day, devoted to being thankful for that which we have.
School Essays 